Senior Game Designer

The Pokémon GO team is seeking a Senior Game Designer to help build compelling gameplay experiences that delight and engage our players. As a Senior Game Designer, you will be responsible for working across functions to craft Live Ops seasonal events and new game mechanics/systems from ideation to launch. You will take on a role to make features and decisions that use player experiences, feedback, and data. You will implement, test, and balance game rule changes during build reviews, feature launches, and economy adjustments. You will thoughtfully craft features that ensure Trainers continue to have fun and explore the real world.

Responsibilities

• Communicate clearly to gain alignment within Pokémon Go’s internal and external stakeholders to create design specifications from ideation to launch
• Advocate for “player first” designs and collaborate frequently with IP holders to ensure brand integrity
• Use data and player research to deliver concise documentation that includes cross functional support (wireframe, flows, supporting sheets)
• Create flexible, modular designs that will support a multitude of gameplay features
• Work with leads and managers to identify new pitches and improvements
• Build and test new and existing features to ensure they meet design requirements and company OKRs
• Work with designers to ensure high quality of design that meets business goals of the feature
• Inspire designers to be innovative by keeping up with industry trends and thinking of creative ways we can leverage Niantic’s emerging technology
• Contribute to the culture of a supportive and cohesive design team
• Regular and reliable attendance and participation in meetings.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience designing for live operation games, especially mobile games
• 2+ years of experience mentoring designers
• Extensive game development experience, has successfully shipped new game features
• Experience working with original and brand IPs
• Excellent skills in verbal and written communication across all game disciplines
• Expertise with spreadsheets, data, and feature documentation for a live game
• Experience with game balance, pacing, and monetizing virtual goods in a FTP model
• Ability to deliver specs from concept to launch
• Ability to adapt on a fast-paced team to drive and deliver results
• Experience working on cross-functional teams with ability to communicate effectively through written and verbal communications, including asynchronous interactions with others.
• Familiarity with Pokémon GO and the general Pokémon franchise

Plus If…

• Bilingual in both English and Japanese
• Knowledge in JIRA and Unity
• Leadership training certifications
• Experience with AR games or features
• Experience building tools

The total compensation package for this position includes a new hire offer base salary range of $121,500.00 - $135,000.00 + bonus + equity + benefits.

Individual pay within this salary range is determined by work location and additional factors, including assessed job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can answer any questions about new hire total compensation during the hiring process. An overview of benefit offerings for your location can be found on the careers page.

Join the Niantic team!

Niantic's global-scale augmented reality platform and digital map powers spatial computing experiences in the real world. Incubated out of the Maps team at Google, Niantic first created Ingress and then Pokémon GO, a cultural phenomenon and hit game played by tens of millions of people each month. Niantic’s Lightship platform, which powers Pokémon GO, also supports the company's other games including Pikmin Bloom, Peridot and Monster Hunter Now. 

We believe that cultivating a workplace where our people are supported and included is essential to creating great products our community will love. Our mission emphasizes seeking and hiring diverse voices, including those who are traditionally underrepresented in the technology industry, and we consider this to be one of the most important values we hold close.

Niantic is a hybrid first company. We believe that in person interaction and collaboration fosters creativity, a sense of community, and is critical to our future success as a company. Our hybrid work schedules allow for a mix of remote and in-office work.

We're a hard-working, fun, and exciting group who value intellectual curiosity and a passion for problem-solving! We have growing offices located in San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Bellevue, London, Tokyo, and Zürich. #LI-HYBRID

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